


You Have Your Whole Life Ahead (come make a mess of it)

by Phan_of_Shipping



Category: Holby City
Genre: Dominic Copeland/Isaac Mayfield - mentioned, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Tumblr Prompt, references to domestic abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-24
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-12-06 19:51:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18224678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phan_of_Shipping/pseuds/Phan_of_Shipping
Summary: A misunderstanding after a late night and a lapse in memory leaves Dom to believe that he's become his worst nightmare. It's up to Lofty to prove him wrong.Prompt: Can you do a fic where dom and lofty get drunk and dom wakes up the next day with no memory of the night before and lofty has a black eye from falling over but dom freaks out because he thinks he hit lofty and he won't believe lofty about falling over





	You Have Your Whole Life Ahead (come make a mess of it)

"Pub?"  
"Pub." Agreed Dom

The ward had been especially busy - it was like all the planets had aligned so that every possible patient complication occurred on the same day.

Dom took his husband's hand as they walked out of the hospital towards the blessed pub. It was an abnormally mild early Spring evening that almost created a feeling of lightness - after a long and gruelling shift, it almost took the burden off his shoulders.

Albie's was unusually lively for a Thursday evening but Dom managed to find a nice booth for the both of them.

 

"I'll get this, what do you want?" Asked Lofty.

"Are you sure? You're quite the gentleman." Grinned Dom, placing an appreciative peck on Lofty's cheek.

Lofty smiled, "Usual then?"

 

Dom nodded and watched as he went up to the bar. It was quite amazing how things could change so drastically in such a short amount of time. He was happy - _truly happy_ and, yes, they had their spats but they really meant nothing in the grand scale of their love. 

A speck in the vastness.

 

The night had perhaps escalated more than they had expected. Lofty should have known when the karaoke machine was pulled out - perhaps that's why it was so busy. 

When Christina Aguilera came on Lofty knew that it wasn't going to be an early night - he knew he was just as bad having lost count of his glasses. 

"Are you sure you can manage?" Questioned Fletch as Lofty held onto Dom - mostly to support Dom but a little for his own balance. 

Lofty waved his hand towards Fletch in a gesture of _no worries_ and in the early hours, they left the pub. Lofty considered getting a cab but he knew the minute it drove off - let's be real - both of them would have been sick so he figured walking was the safer option. Dom had one arm wrapped loosely around Lofty's waist and the other arm out freely - it mostly clung on to the side of walls for some extra balance.

One particular wobble from Lofty had Dom's arm shooting out to balance himself, however his knuckles grazed against the unflinching brick wall that was closer than it had seemed. 

"Oh Lofty." Whined Dom, looking down at his grazed knuckles.

Lofty smiled apologetically and took Dom's hand, kissing each knuckle, "There. All better."

Dom let out a stream of drunken giggles, "I don't think it works like that."

Lofty tugged Dom forward gently, they really needed to get home and it was going to be next month at the rate they were going. 

In his sudden haste to turn around, Lofty didn't notice the lamppost until he collided head-first into it.

He went down to the floor instantly, whacking his face again. He groaned loudly, clutching his face which was stinging painfully.

"Lofty are you okay?" Questioned Dom, managing to bend down beside Lofty.

"Yeah." Sighed Lofty, the alcohol most likely masking some of the pain. 

With a little difficulty, Dom helped pull Lofty up to his feet. Lofty noticed the CCTV planted at the wall - he prayed the owner would not review their footage of the night because the embarrassment of walking straight into a lamppost did not have to be witnessed by anyone else. 

 

Dom offered Lofty his hand which he grasped and they eventually managed to make it home, hand in hand, helping each other along the way.

 

Whilst Dom changed, Lofty inspected his face to see if there was any damage.

"I'm going to have a shiner in the morning." Complained Lofty, cursing his never-ending clumsiness. 

"Aww, love." Cooed Dom sympathetically, smiling softly. 

Dom and Lofty clambered under the sheets and shuffled around until they were comfortable.

"I absolutely aced 'Beautiful' today, didn't I?" Joked Dom.

"You ace it every time you sing it," Replied Lofty, "Probably because you sing it _so_ much."

Dom poked his husband's side teasingly, "Hey, you love it really." 

"I do." Smiled Lofty, turning off his bedside lamp, "Good night, Dom." 

"Good night Lofty."

Almost the instant that the lights turned off, the two fell asleep, a day of frantically rushing around on the ward and an evening of singing and drinking seemed the perfect recipe for a deep night's sleep.

___

Light streamed through the blinds and an incessant bird's chirping woke Dom from his slumber. He stretched his arm out to find Lofty but found only a blank space beside him.

Finally deciding to open his eyes, he could see the covers were slightly folded over from where Lofty had got out of bed. Dom moved his hand up to his head, to try and press away the headache that was echoing around the halls in his head. 

How much had he drunk last night?

He remembered flickers, but that was largely from karaoke - the rest of the night was completely unattainable. He remembered Lofty being fairly drunk but not quite as bad as himself. Dom groaned out loud at the thought of going to work later. He would take the day off but he didn't want to waste away his holiday which could be spent on an exotic beach with Lofty. He heard the radio filtering through from the kitchen and the sound of something frying. Dom sat up more and leant against the headboard slightly; trying to not focus on the pulsing in his temples.

As he took another sigh, Lofty came through carrying a tray with orange juice, some toast and pastries.

"Thought this might help." Suggested Lofty, staring down at the tray he was carefully carrying toward the bed.  
As Lofty put the tray down Dom looked up to pull Lofty in for a kiss but recoiled almost instantly.

 

"What happened to your eye, Lofty?" He practically shouted.

"You don't remember?" Asked Lofty cautiously, eyeing Dom.

"No I don't remember anythi-" Dom stopped in his tracks when he saw his hand. His knuckles were grazed and red, an injury that was certainly fresh, "What did I do?"

Dom almost leapt up from the bed, which caused Lofty to step back in surprise - Dom only took it as confirmation of his worst fear.

"Dom, it's nothing, calm down." Lofty reasoned.

"No, Lofty, I can't. I have no memory of last night and you come in here with a black eye, a nervous disposition and I have split knuckles." Shouted Dom, "It's all my fault!"

"Dom, it's not your fault - don't say that! It doesn't even really hurt that much." Tried Lofty, trying to calm his husband down but to no avail.

“Can you just talk to me?” Tried Lofty again.

Dom suddenly threw on some jeans and a hoodie, grabbing them out the wardrobe.

"What are you doing?" Questioned Lofty in confusion.

"Stop defending me!" Shot back Dom.

"Defending you from _what?"_ Returned Lofty, exasperated.

"From hitting you!" Exploded Dom, tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

 

Lofty stood there speechless. He had no idea what to say, no idea what to think, no idea what to think.

 

"Dom - you don't seriously-" started Lofty before Dom brushed past him.

"I'm going to work."

"Dom, stop! It's not what it looks like." Called Lofty, "It wasn't you."

The door had already shut.

__

Dom avoided Lofty as much as he could on their shift whilst Lofty found himself lost to his thoughts, wondering how Dom had managed to do two plus two and come out with five.

He didn't blame Dom for his reaction, but he needed to think of a way to unequivocally prove to Dom that he had nothing to worry about. His lunch hour was soon approaching - he would do something then.

Dom swept through the ward with extreme efficiency and an equally cold face. Every time he looked down at his knuckles a sick feeling travelled up his throat. He didn't know what to think; the evidence matched up but he didn't give Lofty a chance to explain.

But did it need explaining?

"Dom, I think I can see what you're thinking, what's wrong?" Asked Sacha, ghosting up beside him. 

Dom looked up at Sacha - a myriad of conflicting emotions etched into every pore.

"Office?" Said Sacha, more of a statement than a question.

Dom just nodded, not wanting to draw any attention to himself, and followed Sacha into his office.

"So, what's up?" Sacha asked, his tone already reassuring.

"I think... I think I hit Lofty." Dom responded, barely even able to say the words.

"Why do you think that?" Followed Sacha, not accusingly, just encouragingly.

“Well we went out last night and I know we both got a bit drunk. Then, I wake up and Lofty’s got a really bad black eye and I’ve got split knuckles.” Explained Dom, voice wavering slightly by the end of his explanation.

“But that doesn’t mean you hurt him, Dom.” Reasoned Sacha

“I don’t know what it means!” Sighed Dom, “What if I _did_ do it? What then?” Questioned Dom, wringing his hands together, “What if I end up like him?”

“Dom, don’t ever say that. You are not like him, and you would never do what he did to Lofty.” Sacha said with conviction.

“It’s so scary, Sacha because… what if I did?” Said Dom quietly.

Sacha pulled Dom in for a reassuring hug. He wished he could protect Dom from everything hateful in this world. He wished that he could have protected him in the first place, to have stopped all this from happening.

“I think you need to talk to Lofty, hear what he has to say, then you’ll know what to do.” Suggested Sacha.

Dom nodded and agreed. He should do that.  
“It’s fairly quiet today, Dom, take all the time you need.” Offered Sacha.

“Thank you.”

__

Dom walked to the locker room to change and call Lofty. When he unlocked his phone he saw that he had some missed calls and texts from Lofty. What confused him was a video file that had been sent. 

Intrigued, Dom opened it to see grainy, late-night footage of a seemingly random street near Holby. The time at the bottom was late, and the date was from last night. Just as he was about to exit the video, he saw himself and Lofty staggering down the street. They were clinging onto each other for balance, laughing. Dom smiled gently at the sight of them. 

He carried on watching the video and then saw himself fall slightly into the wall. He looked down at his hand, the one that he had hurt in the footage, and suddenly pieces started falling back together.

Then, he watched as Lofty span around and went straight into the lamppost. Dom couldn’t help but laugh at his husband’s clumsiness.

 

“I thought that might make you laugh.” Said a voice from the doorway.

Dom looked up to see Lofty leaning against the door frame.

“Oh, Lofty, I’m really sorry.” Apologised Dom, almost feeling embarrassed.

Lofty stepped towards Dom, resting his hands on Dom’s waist, “Hey, you have nothing to apologise for. It’s all fine now and it’s certainly not your fault.”

 

“God, I’m so messed up.” Sighed Dom, looking down.

“No, you’re not, Dom. You’re strong, intelligent, resourceful, _stubborn_ but you’re not messed up. You went through a trauma and you’re still working through it and that’s okay.” Lofty replied sincerely.

“What did I do to deserve you?” Asked Dom.

“Absolutely nothing - and I ask myself the same question.” Smiled Lofty fondly.

Dom cupped his hands around Lofty’s face and gently pressed his lips against Lofty’s. It was sweet and gentle - much like Lofty - and spoke a thousand volumes.

"If you ever feel like that again, just speak to me and we can work it through." Lofty asked.

"I promise." Answered Dom resolutely.

 

“Why don’t we get a coffee?” Suggested Lofty, “I’ve still not recovered from my hangover.

“Me neither,” Agreed Dom, “And i’m sure walking into a lamppost will take awhile too.”

“Hey,” Laughed Lofty, “Let’s not talk about that.”

“Fine.” Conceded Dom, grabbing his husband’s hand with a grin and a flood of relief. He was fine - they were fine - and he knew there would be moments where they argued, had misunderstandings, but they would always come out the otherside. They were stronger together and he loved Lofty with all his heart.

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a while since I've watched Holby City - let alone write a fic for it - but here you go! 
> 
> It's quite a sensitive topic so I hope I handled it okay, I was very conscious of taking the time of making sure I didn't invalidate Dom. The title for this fic is from Shine by Birdy... my thinking was that Dom and Lofty have (hopefully lol) their whole lives together so it's okay to make a mess of things, hence picking out the line "you have your whole life ahead, come make a mess of it."
> 
> Kudos/Comments are always appreciated :)


End file.
